Over at Econlog, Bryan Caplan cites a book showing that Vladimir Lenin was against alcohol:
“Whatever the peasant wants in the way of material things we will give him, as long as they do not imperil the health or morals of the nation,” Lenin famously declared late in life. “But if he asks for ikons or booze – these things we will not make for him. For that is definitely retreat; that is definitely degeneration that leads him backward. Concession of this sort we will not make; we shall rather sacrifice any temporary advantage that might be gained from such concessions.”
As I have written before, Lenin was a very evil man.
Does he mean orthodox icons? That he forbids alcohol, I can understand but while that idea might be meant well, it didn’t work in the USA. Alcohol prohibition -> maffia.